Mounting brackets in truck engines must be rigid and durable in order to withstand the conditions to which they are subjected over the life of the engine. Engine vibrations and the weight of the rigid objects attached to the brackets cause the brackets to fatigue. Conventional engine component mounting brackets often suffer premature failure due to the fatigue caused by these harsh conditions.
Mounting brackets that are used to mount components such as air/vacuum pumps and the like often are slotted for tensioning engine belts. To tension the belts of such components leverage must be placed on the mounting bracket to which the component is affixed to move the bracket and component in a direction which will cause the belt to be tensioned. However, when tensioning the belt, it is often difficult for the user to place any leverage on the bracket due to the substantially planar construction of the prior art brackets. A pry bar or other extended lever are often used to place a force on the bracket to move the bracket and tension the belt. Use of an extraneous lever can be awkward and often is difficult to maneuver in the confines of the engine compartment and hold the belt tight while retightening the bolt(s) to hold the bracket in place. Examples of mounting brackets and tensioning devices are shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,065,713 to Seats, No. 4,877,984 to Colwell et al., No. 4,980,589 to Ochi et al., No. 5,705,870 to Thomsen et al., No. 4,726,557 to Heurich et al., No. 2,909,074 to Scheiterlein and No. 5,125,376 to Williams et al. However, the devices taught in these patents are either simply mounting brackets or tensioning devices. None of them perform both functions without the use of an outside implement, such as a pry bar.
A long felt need exists for engine mounting brackets that are durable and provide a simplified belt tensioning function that does not require extraneous components such as a pry bar.